South Africa’s Unions Congratulate Nelson Mandela on His Birthday

The Congress of South African Trade Unions (COSATU) has congratulated anti-apartheid icon and former South African President Nelson Mandela, who celebrates his  94 th birthday Wednesday.

COSATU spokesman Patrick Craven said Mandela will continue to be an inspiration to all South Africans, as well as the rest of the world.

“COSATU wished Nelson Mandela a very happy birthday and many more years of happy life.  Nobody has done more to earn it in South Africa and he remains an inspiration to all of us,” said Craven.

“Our message is to wish him well and to hope that his inspiration will contribute towards continuing the work, which he so much set in motion both in prison and as president, and which can still inspire us today to solve some of the huge problems, which we still face as a country, particularly the very high rate of unemployment, poverty and inequality.”

Craven said COSATU has enjoyed a strong relationship with Mandela.

“COSATU always has an excellent relationship with Nelson Mandela. When we set up a special award named after our founding president, the Elijah Barayi Award, the first person we gave this to was Nelson Mandela. And, it was an obvious choice; there was no debate about that,” said Craven.

“He always saw the workers and the poor as the main people who have to benefit from political liberation. And, the tragedy is that, today, many of those are still not completely free.  He has won our political freedom for us, for which we will always be grateful.  But, we still have to struggle to achieve economic freedom about this main challenge, which we face in the years ahead.”

The UN General Assembly is scheduled to mark Nelson Mandela International Day with an informal meeting Wednesday honoring his contributions to democracy, racial justice and reconciliation.

In his message, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said, “Nelson Mandela gave 67 years of his life to bring change to the people of South Africa.  Our gift to him can – and must – be to change our world for the better.”

Craven said South Africans are delighted with the honor Mandela has brought to them.

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Posted: at 18-07-2012 02:17 AM (12 years ago) | Hero

HI PAPA, THE TREMENDOUS IMPACT YOUR PERSONALITY AND IDEOLOGY IN SOUTH AFRICA AND THE WORLD AT LARGE CANNOT BE OVEREMPHASIZED........I, "WE" CONGRATULATE U IMMENSELY ON YOUR 94TH BIRTHDAY AND WISH U ALL THE BEAUTIFUL THINGS LIFE ENTAILS......HAPPY.......BIRTHDAY .......PAPA

Posted: at 18-07-2012 11:05 AM (12 years ago) | Newbie

I love Mandela Happy Birthday Daddy

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Posted: at 18-07-2012 03:00 PM (12 years ago) | Hero

HBD

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Posted: at 19-07-2012 05:36 PM (12 years ago) | Addicted Hero